First Trial

That revelation from his system voice immediately sobered him up. Will might not know a lot but he was painfully aware of the frailty of human life.

"What do I do?" He was in a hurry to gather as much info as he could. And since his system said it could help him, why not ask?

"Not much we can do at the moment I'm afraid." sighed the system voice. "The first trials haven't officially begun, so the information is still locked."

"Do you have a guess?" Will was anxious. He knew that with his new body he would probably be fine, but the possibility of death still scared him. "I don't want to lose anything more..." He said emotionally.

"Don't worry William, The trials are always focused on the individuals capabilities. So assuming that your adoptive parents got a decent blessing they should be fine."

Will let out a sigh of relief but then paused as another thought crossed his mind.

"System what is the percentage chance of receiving a blessing above D grade?" He waited with baited breath, remembering that since there was a range of blessing grades it was impossible for each to be as likely as the others.

The voice paused for a few moments, and with each passing second Will felt his heart sink deeper into his stomach.

"Request granted, see below for the information.

Blessing's are divided into grades based on relative power and utility. All active blessings grant at least one active skill, with higher grades having a potential to provide multiple active and passive skills.

The percentage chance of receiving a blessing at the opening trial is based on the grade, and any special circumstances such as hidden quest rewards etc.

The percentage rates are as follows.

SSS- .00001%

SS- .001%

S- .1%

A- 5%

B- 10%

C- 25%

D- 30%

E- 45%

F- 50%

Note: Remember that blessings are upgradeable, the difficulty lies in their grade. Please be on the lookout for trial rewards that will aid in blessing refinement/assimilation."

He finally understood why the first several trials were called the winnowing. It was nearly impossible to get a truly strong blessing without some lucky circumstance. His was quickly completing the info pack. Others he had no idea, but he figured that with 10 Billion people on the planet someone would get lucky.

"Is it possible to assist others in their trials?" This was practically his last hope to not potentially loose his family again. While he wasn't super close with them, he still loved them. And didn't want to see them get hurt.

"I'm sorry but no. All trials, except for specific world/region trials, are always individual. It is possible to meet others in your trials and submit them. But you must remember that the purpose of these things is to cull the weak, and advance the race."

Will's heart broke at this and silent tears streamed down his face.

"Why am I cursed to have no family?... First my parents and now my adoptive family. Why couldn't we take the trials together, then I could have protected them. Repaid them for the kindness they've shown me."

William continued to rant and curse as his emotions ran wild. The system did nothing as she understood that people need time to process every thing before they can make any kind of decision.

After a few minutes of cursing, ranting, and punching random trees. Will finally calmed down enough to think clearly. It was at this time that the system voice chimed in again.

"Don't worry too much William. With enough power even resurrections are not out of the question. If you become a true god you can bring back anyone you've lost along the way."

Will was shook, as the possibilities flooded his mind threatening to overwhelm him again. But before they could the voice chimed in again.

"However...This only applies to those who've died since the trials began. Unfortunately there is no current power strong enough to circumvent the trials rules...I'm sorry."

Another silent tear slid it's way down Williams face, as he felt he'd gone from heaven to hell in a few short moments. The hope of reuniting with his parents, and the truth that he could not bring them back.

"It's alright." William choked out. Taking a moment to stabilize himself he continued. "I have accepted their passing a long time ago. It was just..." He didn't need to finish, she knew what he meant.

'Ding!'

"All blessings have been given...1st trial parameters are being set. Please be patient as this may take some time."

Will hadn't even gotten full control of himself yet when the system gave him a harsh reality check. The trials had begun, anything unrelated to survival from this point on...was useless.

"Hey system." Will began, "Do you have a name?" He thought that since they were stuck together it might be good to know her name. He didn't think she would appreciate being called system all the time.

"You may name me if you wish. Most just call us system and leave it at that." She was slightly puzzled but also happy. "Perhaps he's warming up to me." she thought to herself, smiling slightly. If systems can even do that.

"Hmmmm..." Will pondered for a few moments for a suitable name. He had a lot of different ideas from all the books he read, but nothing really stood out until.

"I'll call you Miriam...it was my mothers name....you remind me of her a little bit, so I hope that's fine."

She was stunned, of all the names he could have come up with this was the one she least expected.

"I would be honored to bear your mothers name." She said feeling all the warm and fuzees that a system could possibly feel.

'Ding!'

"Parameters have been set...All trial takers will now be transported to their respective trial areas. Thank you for your patience. And please remember...upward and onward."

"Here we go William, brace yourself!"

"What are you talking abo....!!!" He didn't quite get the words out when he was surrounded by a blinding light.

He felt his body become weightless and start to be dragged upwards when he fell unconscious.

"Uuuggghh..." Will didn't know how much time had passed, or really what happened. The only thing he knew was that he felt like his insides were no longer happy with being...inside.

His head was pounding, his throat was dry, and he felt overall like old truck-kun paid him a visit.

'Ding!'

"Wake up William, its almost time for the trial to start and I need to tell you about what to expect."

He could hear the nagging tone in Miriam's voice but couldn't muster up a whole lot of give a crap at the moment. However he knew the seriousness of his situation and forced himself to sit up to take stock of his surroundings, and listen to what she had to say.

The first thing he noticed was that he was out in the woods. No tent, no supplies, nothing. Just him out there in the middle of the forest. It was early morning, the sun was just starting to peak over the tree tops, while the birds did their best to impress their potential mates.

He was still in the clothes he had on when the whole pillar of light thing happened, but the air here felt much cleaner. He also noted that the trees looked larger than those he was familiar with but otherwise looked normal.

"Where am I?" He wanted to get the information from Miriam as soon as possible. He needed direction, he could survive in the forest for a while but it wouldn't be comfortable.

Just then he heard a strange shuffling sound coming from behind him. Whipping his head around to see what it was he almost screamed from shock.

"Zombies??!!"

"Yes William...Zombies."